Page 71 of A Dangerous Kind of Love

“Be at the door before their shift ends,” I say. “You walk them to the car. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Boss.”

I let a second pass, turning the glass once in my hand.

“And Luca.”

“Yes.”

“You and Sarah. Does she know anything?”

The silence stretches a little too long.

“She knows we’re cousins.”

Fuck.

“Katie knows?”

“Yes,” he says quietly.

I go still, the glass hovering just short of my mouth before I lower it back to the bar without taking a drink. “How do you know?”

“She asked—"

I cut him off before he can finish. “What did you say?”

“I told her our dads were brothers. That mine died when I was little.”

I drag a hand over my face, feeling the edge of irritation settle in under my skin as I stare down at the whiskey in my glass, watching the surface ripple from where I set it down.

“What else?”

“She asked why I call you Boss.”

“And?”

“I told her you like to keep things professional on the job.” He pauses. “But then she asked why I still called you Boss at her house last night.”

I wait.

“I said it was habit.”

I go still, my fingers tightening slightly around the glass as I stare at the amber liquid inside it. She didn’t fucking believe that. Not with the way she watches people, not with the questions she asks.

“You like this Sarah girl?” I ask. “You planning on seeing her again?”

“What?”

“Don’t act like you didn’t fucking hear me.”

The silence stretches long enough to irritate me.

“I don’t know. I don’t even know if that’s something she wants.”

I take a drink, slower this time.

“You’re going to figure it out,” I say. “I don’t need you telling her things before Katie knows. Do I make myself clear?”